Grace and peace from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ!
In Eucharistic Prayer III, we pray the words, “You never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting, a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.” Here on Melbourne Beach, we live this out literally! Sandwiched as we are between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon, we are blessed to witness the magnificence of God’s creation each day as the sun rises behind our altar and sets beyond our church doors!
I am so glad that either you are already a part of our wonderful parish, or perhaps are considering making our parish your new household of faith! The strength of any parish resides in the hearts and minds of faithful Catholics like yourselves.
I believe we are striving each day to be a community of believers who live their faith by making a difference in the world, by discovering Christ alive in all the people we meet and places we travel each day—supported by the prayers of our Blessed Mother, especially under the patronage of her Immaculate Conception, and nourished by the Holy Eucharist.
Now, more than ever, people come to church for a variety of reasons. Their motivations are as varied as the people who visit—to experience God’s love, meet and greet friends, serve their neighbors, learn their faith, ask for assistance, grow into the person God calls each of us to be.
I welcome you to Immaculate Conception parish as a place where people encounter the living God, accompany one another on our life journey, and are sent forth in mission to a hungry and thirsty world—as St. Augustine said, “becoming what we receive,” namely the Body & Blood of Christ!
I look forward to all the opportunities we will have to meet each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, especially around the tables of God’s Word and Sacrament!
Fr. Ben Berinti, C.PP.S.
Pastor
